


One Step at a Time

by Hornswaggler



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Maria Hill, Developing Relationship, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Puppy Piles, Team Dynamics, Tony Stark has no tact, Tumblr Prompt, no set timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-17
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-09 00:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1139471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hornswaggler/pseuds/Hornswaggler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve knew that there would be a lot of things to get used to after waking up in a new decade.<br/>He did not expect Maria Hill to be one of them.</p><p>Ongoing collection of short drabbles inspired by prompts from Tumblr people. The timeline will skip around quite a lot depending on what I get.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got a couple of prompts for fluffy things on Tumblr, so I thought I'd get a little collection going. They're all pretty stinking short, but I'll add more when/if they come!
> 
> Prompt 1 (glassfullofstars): COMMANDER Maria Hill has to smack down some agents who are screwing up or getting out of line. Steve is present and she worries he’ll be turned off but it has the opposite effect.

Steve was getting the feeling that he wasn’t technically supposed to be listening at this point. Unfortunately, the conversation had progressed far enough that walking away in the middle of it would only draw attention to himself, and that was the last thing he wanted at this point.

Really, he wasn’t sure it could be called a conversation anymore. The tones were still polite and not too challenging, and everyone still looked like they were simply having a casual talk. Anyone who had worked around Maria Hill for any length of time, however, could pick up on the warning in her eyes in an instant. Unfortunately for the agents she was addressing, they had only been transferred a week ago. They had yet to learn the signals, but it was likely they would remember them after this.

"It’s a simple yes or no question, Miller," Maria said, for what might have been the third time already. "Did you follow the orders you were given?"

"No. Not technically." Miller was easily six foot, and he was obviously trying to use that to his advantage. So far it didn’t seem to be working. "But given the circumstances —"

"It was a yes or no question, agent."

The man let out a breath, glancing at his companion quickly for support.

"No." Maria tilted her head a little, one eyebrow lifting, and Steve could see Miller’s eyes harden. "No, ma’am."

"I didn’t think so. Sanchez." Dark eyes snapped over to the other man and he stiffened almost as if expecting a blow. "Are you aware that this organization happens to have this little thing we call hierarchy?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"And yet you ignored direct orders coming from a superior officer."

"Yes, but —"

"What security clearance are you two?" They both blinked quickly, a little thrown off by the abrupt subject change. It was Sanchez that spoke first, his words forced around gritted teeth.

"Level three, ma’am." Maria nodded almost thoughtfully, arms crossing over her chest as she considered them.

"And what’s the highest clearance you can reach in SHIELD?" They glanced at each other, as if silently trying to decide whether or not to acknowledge the rumors that would occasionally circulate around base.

"Six," Miller said finally. There was a brief flash of amusement in the woman’s eyes and she nodded again.

"Precisely, which implies you have quite a ways to go before you have any right to start deciding which orders to ignore."

"I understand that, Agent Hill, but —"

"That is  _Commander_  Hill to you, Miller.” The sudden snap in her voice nearly made the two men step back and Miller seemed to suddenly shrink a few inches as all semblance of politeness vanished from her eyes. “Unless the Director himself pays a visit,  _I_  am in charge of this base, and you seem to have gotten into the unfortunate habit of forgetting that.”

Steve found himself almost as surprised as the two agents. He had seen Maria on the bridge before, calling orders with the air of someone who  _definitely_  expected them to be followed. She was very obviously in charge out there, and apparently challenging that authority was much less of a good idea than he had thought. Just a slight shift in posture, a slight change in expression, and she went from being vaguely disapproving to downright terrifying.

It was damn beautiful.

Miller and Sanchez, of course, probably didn’t see it that way. They both seemed to have suddenly realized that the other agents were wary of this woman for a reason, and neither seemed quite willing to meet her eyes.

"Apologies, ma’am," Sanchez muttered. "It won’t happen again."

"You’re damn right it won’t." Steve was struck by the sudden memory of another woman, calling a soldier out of the line-up and ending with him doubled over. He had to hold back a grin as Maria stared them down until they looked up at her again. "I hear either of you are so much as tweaking orders, I’m throwing you both back down to level 2, and trust me, it’ll be a long climb up again."

The agents nodded quickly. Miller seemed to be trying not to scowl, but to his credit he did manage to keep his mouth shut. Maria watched them a moment longer before beginning to turn away, just as Sanchez spoke up again.

"Ma’am, if it’s —"

"Oh, God, are you dismissed," the woman muttered, and the two men exchanged glances before turning and striding off as quickly as they could manage without looking panicked.

She had turned her attention to her phone as it lit up, apparently unaware that Steve was still there until he cleared his throat. She didn’t jump - Maria Hill was apparently never startled - but she did glance up curiously.

There was a moment in which he could swear she looked worried - hell, almost embarrassed - but it passed so quickly that he wasn’t even sure the expression had changed at all. Her hand did seem a little tight around the phone, but hell, that might mean anything.

"Captain, I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there."

"It’s fine," he assured her. It was fairly impressive, really, how she could go from looking ready to actually tear off a few heads back to a poised - if slightly tired - commander in the span of a few seconds. "I was just dropping off the report from Peru." Right, that had been the reason, hadn’t it? She accepted the file when he held it out and flipped through a couple pages almost absently before nodding.

"Appreciate it. Probably the only one I’ll get on time this week, seeing how things have been going so far." She let out a controlled breath, tucking the file under one arm and turning back to him. "Anything else?"

"No, that was…" Steve hesitated, pointedly running his words over in his head before he actually said them out loud. "It’s good, you putting them in line like that. A lot of guys still aren’t used to the idea of taking orders from a woman."

"Apparently not." She looked at him a little curiously, raising an eyebrow as if in challenge. "Are you?" Once again quick memories of Peggy flashed through his mind and he couldn’t help but grin a little.

"Yes ma’am. I’ve got experience." Maria seemed satisfied with that and nodded briskly after a pause, looking back down at her phone as it buzzed again.

"I’ll let you know if we need anything else to wrap up that last assignment. For now, get some rest - whether you need it or not."

"Yes, ma’am." That was a pretty obvious dismissal and Steve left without protest, hands going to his pockets automatically.

He couldn’t say he knew the woman extremely well; she had just barely started allowing him to call her Maria when they weren’t actually working - usually when she would drop by the Tower to deal with some mess Tony had made or something - but he was still mostly Rogers, or Captain if she was feeling slightly more formal. It had always been clear she demanded respect from the agents, and that made sense given that what he said was true; most men didn’t much like the idea of a woman bossing them around, and it took a good deal to get them in line.

Still, he hadn’t quite imagined…whatever that had been. It had been unexpected and startling…and stunning.

Steve didn’t know Maria Hill that well yet, but he felt he had learned a few things today, the strangest of which was that apparently he had a type.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2 (tielan): "You know, you two would have absurdly beautiful children," Tony said, apropos of nothing.

_"You know, you two would have absurdly beautiful children," Tony said, apropos of nothing._

To her credit, Maria didn’t even flinch. Steve choked on his water, turning to stare at Tony incredulously. The billionaire hadn’t even looked up from the blueprints he was poring over, and it was silent for a few seconds.

"Excuse me?" Maria kept her voice casual, and Steve recognized the opportunity being given to retract the words. Any sane man would have, but no one had ever accused Tony Stark of being sane. Brown eyes glanced up very briefly and he gestured between them with a pen.

"You two. Seriously, the genetics there have got to be perfect." The stony silence didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest and after another moment he looked up fully with his usual grin. "What? I’m making an observation."

"Stark, if I have to schedule  _another_ sexual harassment seminar because of you…”

"It’s purely scientific, Agent Hill, I assure you. Unless  _you_ take it that way, which would imply —”

"I’d quit while you’re ahead, if you’d like to keep all of your extremities."

He did hesitate, which was a pretty big feat in itself. Usually conversations like this didn’t actually end up going anywhere; usually there were five other people at the table to buffer anything he ended up spitting out on whim, and Pepper practically had professional training on how to deal with stuff like that. Unfortunately, Pepper was off on a business trip, Clint and Natasha had some mission in Guadalajara or something, Bruce was giving some talk about genetics a few cities away, and Thor had gone to pay a visit home.

It was likely Tony had known all this; he seemed to always know what was going on in his tower at any time of the day. If Steve had known, he would’ve just made dinner for himself in his room - at least, he would’ve if Maria hadn’t ended up dropping by for some paperwork and Tony had somehow coerced her into staying.

As it was, they had ended up eating in near silence while Tony took the opportunity to work on some project. Steve had vaguely hoped that would keep him quiet the entire time, but apparently that had been a stretch.

"I’m pretty sure assaulting a consultant is against some kind of regulations," he observed after a little while. "Besides, my house. You wouldn’t kill a man in his own house, would you?" The look he got seemed to make him consider that and add quickly, "Don’t answer that."

He seemed to have learned his lesson for a while and it stayed quiet the rest of dinner until Steve  excused himself quietly, grabbing his dishes to take to the kitchen and pointedly trying to avoid Maria’s eyes. It wasn’t much of a surprise when Tony followed him, but he had let himself have some hope that the conversation had been forgotten.

"She’s not gonna kill you by association now, is she?" Steve paused, pulling in a breath and whatever patience he could scrape together before turning and raising an eyebrow at the other man. "I mean, that woman’s scary even out of uniform. I’ll probably have to avoid the base for…what, a few months, if I wanna keep my head?"

"Your own fault," Steve pointed out. "Why the hell would you think  _that_ was a good thing to say?”

Tony actually looked a little confused for a moment as he glanced back at the door. It was a rare look and rather unexpected at a time like this.

"What, you two aren’t — seriously?"

"We’re — no!" It took a good deal of effort to keep his expression neutral and Steve wasn’t even sure it was working too well. He could feel his face getting warm - warmer than usual, at least, and tried to ignore it. "Why would you think that?"

The look he was given was half disbelieving and half analytical, like he was suddenly a puzzle that needed figuring out. It didn’t take long for a knowing grin to replace it, though, and Tony leaned against the counter, arms crossing.

"Ahh, not  _yet._ " He actually laughed, shaking his head. "C’mon, Rogers, you need to step it up; apparently you’re the only ones who haven’t noticed."

"Noticed — there’s nothing to notice, Tony. Maria’s our liaison, we work together a lot."

"See, even that. You’re the only one who calls her that and gets away with it. Well," he conceded, shrugging, "except Bruce, but he hasn’t used anyone’s last name in years." When Steve only shook his head Tony let out a slightly frustrated breath. "You’re always gawking at each other when you think no one’s looking, always getting lunch to ‘discuss business’ - and you can’t tell me she would’ve agreed to stay if you hadn’t been here."

There was a slightly strained silence before Steve managed to chuckle, shaking his head again and putting the dishes he still held into the sink, making a mental note to wash them later.

"Sorry to break your ‘always right’ streak, but there’s nothing going on."

"Like I said." Tony looked a little smug as he lifted his empty glass in a mock toast.. "Not yet. Better get a move on, champ, or you’re gonna kill the  _rest_ of us with the suspense.”

"You can’t tell me everyone else is in on this, too."

"Oh, we’ve got a pool." The smug look had turned into a full grin and the billionaire shrugged, pushing himself off the counter. "Don’t worry about it; Barton’s just gonna owe me quite a few favors. Pretty sure Hill’s headed out soon, anyway. Shouldn’t a gentleman escort the lady to the door or something?"

Steve managed a half-hearted glare and sighed. “I’m not going just because you said that,” he said as he went back to the door. “And you’re still not right.” He could hear the responding snort as the door closed and hesitated a moment to get his expression back to normal before returning to the dining room.

Maria was examining some painting on the wall with her papers tucked under one arm. She glanced over when he approached and nodded at the frame a little absently.

"Don’t suppose you know what this is, huh?" He shook his head with a grin.

"Knowing Tony? Pepper picked it."

She nodded, looking at the piece a few seconds longer before turning away. “I’ve got an early shift, so I should be getting home.”

"Right, of course, I’ll…"  _Dammit, Rogers, now is not the time to get awkward._ He cleared his throat and managed what felt like a natural smile. “Walk you out?” 

Tony was leaning in the doorway when they got to the elevator and Steve tried to ignore the smirk, managing a quick glare before the doors closed. Despite the height of the building, it never actually seemed to take long to get down. He was grateful for that today, as the silence seemed a little more strained than usual. Normally he was perfectly fine with silence, but after a little while the man let out a quick breath.

"I’m sorry about…" He jerked his head upwards with a slight grimace. "Tony. He’s a great guy, but he just gets…"

Maria actually chuckled, shaking her head. “If I couldn’t deal with people like Tony Stark, I’d be out of the job in a day.” She caught his slightly disbelieving look and offered a quick smile. “It’s fine, really. Takes more than that to get under my skin.”

The quiet ding that announced the lobby almost made Steve jump and he managed a quick laugh, “Guess I’ll have to beat him up on my own, then.”

"Let me know how that goes." The woman paused a moment before fully stepping out and shot him a look that seemed almost - for lack of a better word - sly as she added, "Just for the record - he’s not wrong."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in and Steve blinked a few times, watching her turn and stride toward the exit with a quick “G’night, Captain,” tossed over her shoulder. The doors had shut and the elevator was moving again before he managed to clear his throat quickly and shot a look up at the security camera on the ceiling.

"Tony does not hear about this, JARVIS, understand?"

_“Of course, sir.”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one turned into more of a team-fic than anything else, but y'know
> 
> Prompt 3 (captainjanewayismypatronus) : Maria & Steve - puppy piles

The worst missions weren’t always the ones that left everyone tattered and bleeding – though those definitely weren’t sought after either. No, the worst ones lasted three days longer than they should have, kept everyone on their feet nearly the entire time, and finally ended in the middle of some forest with the closest extraction team still fueling up six hours away. If it had been a dire emergency they might’ve been able to get there a little sooner, but as it was no one was badly injured – just exhausted.

Maria glared down at the radio a little half-heartedly before letting out a slow breath and glancing at the team around her. She technically wasn’t even supposed to be on the field with the Avengers; she was just the liaison, their link to SHIELD and the one who ended up having to diffuse anything stupid Stark might’ve done that week. This was supposed to have been just a quick consult and had turned into a three-day trip through the trees trying to track down the remnants of some super-computer gone wrong before it could vanish again.

She’d go on record saying she still wasn’t fond of superheroes…but the people themselves had gown on her – some quite a bit more than others, she noted vaguely, shooting an unconscious glance at Steve. Anyway, it was hard to see them as superheroes now anyway, looking this worn down. Tony had gotten out of the suit and left it propped up against a rock, turning the helmet to one side after Clint had complained it was staring at him. Thor was – somehow – out of his own armour and his cape was rolled up beside him. Bruce looked to already be dozing where he sat, and even Clint and Natasha, for all their paranoia, were nearly nodding off.

Steve was the only one who didn’t look about to collapse, but there was still weariness about him that she didn’t often see. Maria figured she couldn’t look much better, judging by the slightly-concerned looks he was shooting her. Six hours. What are you going to do for six hours? The answer actually came very easily. The woman did manage to stifle a yawn, but just barely, and she glared a moment or two at the ground before attempting to find the most comfortable way to lay down on it.

It didn’t take long for a backpack to appear in front of her and she followed the offering arm to Steve’s grin. Maria rolled her eyes quickly before accepting the pack; it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable pillow, but it was a hell of a lot better than the leaves and sticks everywhere else.

“Oi, don’t hog.” She hadn’t even noticed Tony approaching until he was claiming part of the pack, lying nearly spread-eagle on the opposite side. That seemed to be the cue for everyone else; Steve settled next to her, head resting on his jacket and arm. Clint ended up using her lower leg as a pillow of sorts and Natasha curled up against him with a familiarity that told of it happening a lot more often than most people knew. Bruce settled for one of Tony’s arms and even Thor folded his cape and shoved it against the backpack, somehow squeezing in between Steve and Bruce and apparently falling asleep immediately.

It took a few moments for Maria to comprehend just how bizarre the whole thing was, and that thought only lasted seconds before she noticed Steve’s free arm had draped across her shoulders. There wasn’t much energy left to do anything about it, but habit compelled her to at least try.

“Supposed to be discrete, you know,” the woman muttered, barely catching the responding grin from above his elbow.

“Six hours until protocol matters again.” Steve’s voice was muffled and she felt his grip tighten just a little. “Never very good at those anyway.” Well that was true, at least. It didn’t take long to decide firmly that protocols could go to hell right now and stamp down any paranoia with the reasoning that JARVIS was enough to keep watch. She shot another quick glance around the group, vaguely noting that Clint was holding Natasha’s hair lightly, Tony was already snoring, and Thor was apparently perfectly comfortable squished between a man nearly his size and a man nearly half that.

She didn’t like superheroes much. In some circumstances she still thought keeping the Avengers around was a pretty damn stupid move on Fury’s part. Seeing this, though – this little rag-tag team who had somehow come to trust each other enough to fall asleep in the middle of the rainforest without question – any ill-will was very difficult to manage. In fact, she mused as the last awake part of her mind vaguely noted Steve threading his fingers through hers, even if the Avengers were a pain to deal with, the people behind the name had grown on her very quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 4 (tielan): AU meme: "ride the same bus together literally every day AU" - MCU: Steve/Maria

He first noticed her on a day it was pouring. Everyone who got on the bus that day was drenched, whether they had an umbrella or not, but somehow she was the only one who managed to look like she had just stepped out of a business meeting despite being soaking wet. Barely a hair out of place and showing absolutely no indication that the rain was an inconvenience at all. Given that everyone else looked a little like a drowned rat, it was a pretty impressive feat.

Steve couldn’t really stop noticing the woman after that. He realized after a week that they apparently rode the same route every day, though she was already on at his stop and he got off before she did. It was a little curious that he hadn’t noticed before, but there was an air about her that said she didn’t really want to catch attention. He sat next to at one point, said good morning, and was met with a brisk nod. That wasn’t discouraging in the slightest, especially since Steve couldn’t really think of a specific goal. It became a habit, though; get on, throw out a quick “Morning” and sit down. There was once when he thought she might have muttered something in reply, but it was difficult to tell with the noise.

Her name was Hill, apparently. It felt a little odd knowing that without having actually spoken to her, but she was the type to answer the phone with just a name, and after the third time of hearing it, it felt safe to assume that Hill fit. Most likely a last name, of course. Still, even knowing that much was nice, in a way. It put a name to the face and it was better than nothing at all.

It took a good few weeks after he had started with the regular greeting for anything to change, and it was subtle when it did. Hill actually looked up when he sank onto the seat across from her with his usual now-automatic greeting. For once her eyes didn’t just pass over him like he was just part of the surrounding environment, and her nod was a little less dismissing than usual.

The woman seemed to actually acknowledge his presence after that - less of a “there’s another human occupying that space” threat-assessment-like acknowledgement that he’d gotten used to. It only took a week or so for the next development.

Steve was still half asleep when he got on the bus, his coffee maker having decided to go on strike. He barely noticed the everyday motions to go through, flashing his bus pass, avoiding the newest still-fresh stain on the floor, and flopping into a chair.

"Morning, Rogers."

He had to blink a few times, taking a moment to fully realize that he hadn’t started hallucinating, and then twisted around to stare at the woman in the seat behind him. He’d heard Hill talk before - she got pretty frequent phone calls - but she wasn’t holding a phone now and definitely looking right at him.

"I, uh…morning?" Steve rubbed one eye impatiently as it tried to drift out of focus. "How d’you know my name?"

Hill actually looked like she might have considered a slightly bashful look before deciding against it. “You dropped your wallet a while ago - I just saw your license.”

He could actually remember that instance and vaguely wondered how she’d managed to catch something like his name that quickly, but didn’t question it. “Got it. So I shouldn’t drop my social security card around you.” She grinned. That was the first time Steve had seen her smile and he found that he definitely would like seeing it more often. He shifted in his seat enough to face her a little more comfortably and stuck out a hand. “Might as well make it official: Steve Rogers.”

She seemed to hesitate a split second before accepting the shake firmly. “Maria Hill.”

 _Maria._ Steve caught himself before he actually repeated out loud and found himself grinning. It was a good feeling, getting a first name to the face. “Well, pleasure to finally meet you, Maria.”

"Likewise." She sat back again and for a moment Steve thought that might be the end of things, and was a little surprised when she went on. "Gallery very busy these days?"

He was about to ask how exactly she knew where he worked before realizing that it wasn’t too hard to figure out, considering he got off at the same stop every day and there wasn’t much else around that one. The man shrugged a little. “As much as you ever get, I guess. We’re supposed to get a new shipment today, so that should draw in a few more people…”

It wasn’t particularly deep, the conversation they had, but Steve would admit to himself that he hadn’t enjoyed small talk that much in a long time. She worked in a security business, which made a good deal of sense, and knew more about the art industry than he’d have expected. It was satisfying to decide that he hadn’t overestimated this woman in the slightest before now.

He pulled the cord for his stop automatically before actually realizing that it was next and having a very quick internal debate with himself. The bus had started to slow and he stood before managing to form the question - or not-question, as it ended up coming out.

"If you’re not doing anything after work — I mean, it’s last minute, totally understand if you’re busy — just there’s a good coffee joint on this route a few stops before my place…"

Steve trailed off a little uncertainly, standing halfway in the aisle. There was an unexpected rush of relief when Maria smiled again.

"I’ll save you a seat."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 5 (anonymous): maria visiting the tower in non-uniform for the first time, and steve trying to find a way to tell her how pretty she is
> 
> (Turned out a bit different than I expected, but nonetheless. And I am working on the prompt I got in chapter 4's comments - for some reason this one just came very easily.)

Steve hadn’t actually found himself in New York for long at all since SHIELD fell. He’d been informed that he had a floor at Stark Tower - though apparently they’d been going through the process of renaming it Avengers Tower - and Tony had firmly ignored any protests about it, ending the call with a brisk “See you when you move in.” If he were honest with himself, there wasn’t much to complain about. His old apartment was nice enough but it felt odd going back after his returned-from-the-dead best friend had shot his old boss in the living room.

There hadn’t been much time to consider it recently anyway; he and Sam had been moving from city to city following leads, whispers, any hint they could get about where Bucky might have turned up. The closest they’d gotten so far was in a small costal town in North Carolina, when Steve had caught a quick glimpse of a silver hand and carefully shadowed eyes in a passing crowd. They’d lost him immediately and came to the consensus that Bucky wasn’t about to be found before he wanted to be. It was a draining search despite there being essentially no type of action, and after another week or so they had agreed to give it a break.

Sam returned to his place in DC, promising to keep an ear out for anything that might need looking into, and Steve had finally decided that, with SHIELD gone, there wasn’t much reason not to check in to New York. He’d called ahead to let Tony know that it was just a visit for the moment to get a look at the area and Tony had informed him that he’d get his key system set up.

It was Clint, ironically, that was the one to meet him in the lobby. At the questioning look the archer had just shrugged absently. “Stark’s in some R&D meeting or something,” he explained. “Probably forgot you were coming, knowing him.”

"And he’s wrangled you into staying here?"

"Well all my stuff was at SHIELD, and as they’re no longer paying for rent…" Clint swiped his card at the elevator door with practiced ease and leaned against the wall as the numbers above the door began dropping. "We’ve come to an understanding. He doesn’t go through my stuff, I don’t shoot his robots. Could be worse."

The elevator arrived with the usual soft  _ding_  and Clint had just punched in the floor number when a hurried “Hold the door!” had him tossing an arm out to keep it from closing. Steve didn’t pay much mind to the new occupant initially, taking a moment to wonder just how Tony had managed to make an elevator look like it could do calculus for you. It was only when he realized he recognized the voice that he actually focused on the woman who had joined them.

"I realize it’s time-sensitive, Troy - I just can’t do a whole lot with all this damn red tape they’ve put up around us." Maria was talking into a headset that he hadn’t noticed right away, a tablet in one hand that was tilted carefully away from Clint as he seemed to be trying to read it over her shoulder. "Tell Klein I’ll call him once I talk to Pepper, alright? We need to get those satellites running sooner rather than later."

She apparently ended the call, free hand going to press a button on the earpiece before she gave a quick sigh and glanced around. Steve wasn’t entirely surprised he hadn’t recognized her at first; all of his previous encounters with Maria Hill had been with SHIELD, and she’d never strayed from the standard black uniform. Now she had a blue blouse, slacks, hell, her hair was actually down, that was new…

"Captain." He blinked quickly when she shot him a quick polite smile before turning to tap at something on the tablet. "Didn’t know you were dropping by."

The subtle nudge Clint gave him was entirely unnecessary and Steve resisted the urge to return it. “Getting the grand tour, apparently. Tony’s trying to convince me to move in.”

"Not surprising. Just don’t let him program any door codes for you, they’ll be ridiculous - and what, exactly, is that look for, Barton?"

Steve barely looked over in time to catch the wide smirk before it was wiped away. “Nothing,” Clint said immediately. “Just still not used to seeing you looking like some kind of civilian, right, Steve?”

It took a decent amount of self control not to glare at the other man because he was looking far too smug about nothing, even though hell, he was sort of right. It was an entirely different presence Maria commanded out of uniform, but still an impressive one, and it was just as beautiful as the first time he’d seen her on the Helicarrier, and there was  _no_  reason for Clint to know any of that.

"Considering you’ve been here for a couple months, I’m a little skeptical," Maria told him. "It’d be slightly more believable for Rogers."

"It looks good," Steve found himself saying, and then grimaced a little just as the elevator doors opened. "I mean it’s…different, but…" He could practically feel Clint trying to hold back his laughter and pointedly ignored it.

Maria considered him a moment, then smiled - less of the automatic polite smile he’d gotten before and more something genuine. “Move in,” she advised him unexpectedly, adjusting her grip on her tablet as she stepped into what looked like an office area. “We need someone to even him out until Natasha gets back.”

The doors closed again behind her and it only took a few seconds for Clint to snort loudly.

"Could you  _be_  any more obvious?”

"Shut up."

"Aw man, Nat totally owes me twenty bucks…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a prompt, specifically, but inspired by the recently released deleted scene from CATWS with Maria and Sitwell.
> 
> It was a very important scene. And a very short drabble-thing.

In any other situation, the three nearly identical looks of shock would’ve been funny. As it was Maria let the thought slip by unnoticed; they were on the clock, and she had to deal with the important things first.

"Who’s this guy?"

She’d seen him, of course, on security footage and a few short moments on the highway before the trio had been subdued, and she had a short list of possibilities. Anyone who handled those wings of his so naturally had to have training in them, and that particular division had been small. It wasn’t too surprising, then, when he was quickly introduced as Sam Wilson - from what little she knew of the man he was good and extremely stubborn when push came to shove. Figured he’d end up tangled in this mess.

They moved quickly, removing the restraints. Rumlow had apparently learned his lesson and the ones on Steve bordered on ridiculous. Everyone was bruised, probably exhausted, Natasha was still bleeding, and Steve still had a slightly far-away look that suggested he wasn’t entirely present, but they were all soldiers of some caliber and powered through anyway. Little was said as Maria sliced through the floor of the van - she had to hand it Fury, he had some handy toys - and once they’d slipped out when the convoy slowed slightly it was a good few minutes of running and triple-checking to be sure their escape hadn’t been noticed straight away.

Getting closer to the bunker allowed them to slow a bit and Sam fell in beside Natasha, walking at a bit of an angle to try and see the gunshot wound.

"All we can do is keep pressure on it for now," he noted, a bit of worry leaking into his voice. "Feeling lightheaded at all?"

Maria expected at least a little scorn at that - this was far from the first time Natasha had been shot - but instead Natasha just shook her head, adjusting her grip on the wad of fabric they’d torn from the guard’s uniform to try and stem the flow of blood. Sam didn’t look entirely convinced but didn’t press the matter, sticking close anyway. Maria turned her attention back to Steve who hadn’t spoken since they’d left the van.

She couldn’t read his expression anymore. His stride was confident enough, but there was something a little lost in the man’s eyes that she hadn’t seen before. He didn’t react when she came to walk beside him and Maria found herself hesitating a moment before deciding that the topic needed to be broached eventually.

"So the Soldier - you know him?"

Steve was quiet for a few moments longer and he pulled in a breath before answering as if to steady himself. “I did.”

"Anything you can tell us that might help?"

"I know about as much as you do at this point, Lieutenant."

She nodded and then scoffed softly. “Don’t think the ‘Lieutenant’ is necessary; something tells me I’ll get demoted for this.”

Steve glanced down at her, eyes a little narrowed. “So you know.”

"Enough. They shot Fury and tried to kill you three. Whatever SHIELD is now, I’m not looking to be a part of it."

"HYDRA." That got an incredulous look but he was staring straight ahead again, face carefully blank. "That’s what it is now - what it has been from the start, apparently, at least partly."

Maria was a little concerned that this revelation didn’t shock her more, but hell, it made everything make a lot more sense than it had five seconds ago.

"We’ll deal with it," she told him. "Somehow."

"Who’s ‘we’?"

She hesitated, looking up toward the bridge they were nearing. He might take the news well. He might decide it meant they couldn’t be trusted. Either way, it’d be better to handle with Fury himself. “Not everyone’s HYDRA. Anyway, you tend to inspire a sense of loyalty, Captain.”

It was Steve’s turn to scoff. The tension hadn’t left his shoulders, but he looked a little less like he was about to collapse in on himself without warning, so that had to be a plus. “I tend to inspire loyalty when it can get people killed.”

"I’d say that’s their choice, and you gotta respect that." Something flickered in his eyes for a second before he glanced back at Sam and Natasha, and it was gone when he looked back.

"And you? All this your choice?"

"If this means having the slightest chance of taking out these bastards before they do any more damage, you’re damn right it is."

It might’ve been the start of a smile on Steve’s face - might’ve been something else entirely - but he nodded after a moment, hands going into his pockets when he looked forward again. They were silent the rest of the way to the bunker’s entrance, and Maria found herself thinking back to what Sitwell had said before she left.

_"The director feels your connection to Captain Rogers is a liability."_

She considered the man walking with her; the quiet determination, stubbornly burying the obvious anguish over the revelation about the Winter Soldier, still up and fighting because there was a job to do and few that could do it. Knowing what she did now, the fact that Sitwell had been determined to get her far away from the issue made her all the more determined to stay as close as possible.

_"…your connection to Captain Rogers is a liability."_

_You’re damn right it is._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 7 (maariarogers): would you do something like steve finding maria's dog tag from the army somewhere and, without really meaning to, carry it with him while he's hunting Bucky/Hydra. maybe he becomes attached to it, maybe he doesn't -- and what happens when he tries to give it back.

He hadn't meant to keep it. Not consciously anyway. Maybe it was just an instinctive thing - years in the Army had gotten him used to wearing tags, and it was still a little strange going out without any these days. Still, wearing his own was one thing. Steve was sure it would be all too easy to get new ones made. It was an entirely different story having Maria's dog tag tucked under his shirt.

He knew she'd started out in the Marines. That had been included in the general background she'd shared even before they'd become...whatever they actually were these days. It had still been a little surprising to find it on the floor when he was helping her move apartments. It had been in the middle of loading various boxes, so Steve figured it had just slipped out of something and he pocketed it to hand over when they were done.

That didn't happen, of course. A few hours later Sam called in with what seemed like a promising lead on Bucky and Steve's hurried apologies had been waved off impatiently as he got on his bike. He didn't remember he had it until the next day when the chain slipped out of his pocket in the motel room.

He hadn't meant to keep it, and he didn't even wear it at first. But the trip had gone on longer than expected, HYDRA made things difficult, there was a lot of running and a lot of gunfire and he caught himself tracing the raised letters one day while holed up in a rundown office building. In a way it was strange, simply because the words were different than he was used to. It was also slightly reassuring for some reason that he decided not to look too far into, so the chain ended up around his neck, tucked carefully under his shirt.

If Sam ever noticed he didn't say anything. Not like he would've been surprised anyway; Sam was always the one insisting that he just needed to "suck it up and ask her to dinner Rogers, before you drive _me_ crazy..." They went about normal business, they followed the whispers and rumors, and by the time they got back to New York as empty-handed as usual, Steve had almost forgotten the tag was in any way unusual to have.

Maria didn't mention it, apparently didn't notice the new chain around his neck the next time they ran into each other at the tower. He planned to return it - planned a few times, actually - and every time something else came up, someone pulled him aside for something, and it fell to the back of his mind again. It wasn't a big deal, he'd tell himself, if she missed it she'd bring it up, and it wasn't that strange of a thing to hang onto for this long.

Except it really was. Steve only fully realized this when he finally remembered to give the damn thing back, when he'd dropped into Maria's office to drop off a few papers. It might not have come across as quite as odd if he hadn't actually been wearing it at the time. Maria didn't often look surprised, but it flashed across her face briefly when he pulled the chain off and set it on the desk she was sitting behind.

"Is that..." She picked the tag up, turning it over curiously. "This is mine."

"Yeah." Steve wasn't sure he was managing to keep his face neutral and he ran a hand through is hair quickly. "Found it when you were cleaning, and I just...kept meaning to give it back."

Maria rubbed the tarnished metal absently before she looked back up. "I take it you didn't just put it on today for the reminder."

It would've been easy to claim exactly that, that it had been sitting in his bag for weeks...but Maria seemed to always know when anyone was lying to her. However odd the situation might be, it wouldn't be made better by lying. "Not exactly."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Maria leaned back in her chair, what looked like the start of a smile twitching at her lips. "What, you need something to remember me by, Rogers?"

"I don't need a piece of metal to remember you." The words were out before he fully processed them and Steve barely managed not to wince when Maria raised her eyebrows at him. _Way to sound like a creep, Rogers..._

He didn't dare leave, though, and stubbornly held eye contact until she looked back down. It took a minute or so before the woman stood, circling the desk to stand in front of him and holding the chain out. Steve accepted it cautiously, and Maria folded her arms, glancing down almost self-consciously once before looking up at him.

"Keep it."

"Keep it?"

"You're not deaf, Steve." She let out a huff of what might have been a laugh, shaking her head. "Hell knows I don't need the damn thing. Didn't even know it was gone."

Any intelligent responses seemed to have abandoned him, and Steve forced himself to swallow once. Not like he was usually too good at conversations with Maria that didn't deal with work as it was - this one was just entirely unexpected.

"Still, it's..." He managed a quick grin, not entirely sure how convincing it was. "I can get my own; they've got kiosks for it now, apparently."

"But you don't want your own." Maria did actually smile then, shrugging. "The only good that came out of those couple of years was getting me into SHIELD. I'm not attached. Apparently you are. Keep it."

He was also apparently not as subtle as he would've liked to believe. Steve hesitated, some part of him expecting for this to be some strange joke Tony pulled or something, but when no one jumped out yelling he decided it wouldn't hurt to take it as is. The metal was still slightly warm when he slipped it back over his head, and he nodded quickly, half turned toward the door before her voice made him pause again.

"Consider it something to remind you to get back here in one piece, huh?"

And hey, he had to admit the next time he and Sam got pinned down by gunfire and the occasional strange blue blast, the thin metal digging into his palm certainly managed to do that.


End file.
